Post subject: ..teacher has students vote on whether 5-year-old can stay..

Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 12:48 pm

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Wow , this brought back some horrific memories with my son's school ... been there done that , for twenty and some years ago , and can't believe this kind of humiliation against children by so-called "professionals" is still going on! Argghhhgrrrrr ... Mama Bear mad

Video of Asperger's son's Mom relating the story of his teacher getting his Kindergarten classmates to "vote" him out of his class :

"St. Lucie teacher has students vote on whether 5-year-old can stay in class
By Colleen Wixon (Contact)
Originally published 01:50 p.m., May 23, 2008
Updated 04:30 p.m., May 23, 2008

5-year-old Alex Barton's teacher made him stand in front of his kindergarten class and had his fellow students say what they didn't like about him and then vote whether he should remain in the class.

More coverage of the autistic boy voted out of his kindergarten class

PORT ST. LUCIE — Melissa Barton said she is considering legal action after her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.

After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about Barton's 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher said they were going to take a vote, Barton said.

By a 14 to 2 margin, the class voted him out of the class.

Barton said her son is in the process of being diagnosed with Aspberger's, a type of high-functioning autism. Alex began the testing process in February for an official diagnosis under the suggestion of Morningside Principal Marsha Cully.

Alex has had disciplinary issues because of his disabilities, Barton said. The school and district has met with Barton and her son to create an individual education plan, she said. His teacher, Wendy Portillo, has attended these meetings, she said.

Barton said after the vote, Alex's teacher asked him how he felt.

"He said, 'I feel sad,'" she said.

Alex left the classroom and spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office, she said.

Barton said when she came to pick up her son at the school on Wednesday, he was leaving the nurse's office.

"He was shaken up," she said. Barton said the nurse told her to talk with the child's teacher, who told her what happened.

Alex hasn't been back to school since then, and Barton said he won't be returning. He starts screaming when she brings him with her to drop off his sibling at school.

Thursday night, his mother heard him saying "I'm not special."

Barton said Alex is reliving the incident.

They said he was "disgusting" and "annoying," Barton said.

"He was incredibly upset," Barton said. "The only friend he has ever made in his life was forced to do this."

The child's mother filed a complaint with the school resource officer, who investigated the matter, said Port St. Lucie spokeswoman Michelle Steele said. But the state attorney's office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said. Port St. Lucie Police is no longer investigating, but is documenting the complaint, she said.

Steele said the teacher confirmed the incident did occur.

St. Lucie School's spokeswoman Janice Karst said the district is investigating the incident, but could not make any further comment.

Vern Melvin, Department of Children and Families circuit administrator, confirmed the agency is investigating an allegation of abuse at Morningside, but said he could not elaborate. "

Thanks, yank..for posting that sad and sorry information. This teacher isn't a TEACHER...she's a moron who likes to THINK she's a teacher and has been validated in doing so because she probably has a piece of paper from some college or university saying she passed their requirements to get a degree in education...BIG DIFFERENCE!

First of all, imo, the parent should get a good attorney and sue the asses off the school system and its Board of Education. She should demand the removal of the kindergarten teacher. No doubt her son has suffered a great deal of psychological damage considering the pain, suffering, and humiliation the teacher put him through. Monetary damages to cover what could be a lifetime of therapeutic treatment should be demanded in her suit. The child's civil rights were probably violated, too.

She can have the school system groveling at her feet if she wants to...imo...and she can decidedly send her son the message that sometimes its a good thing to FIGHT, especially when one's rights are being violated.

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

...and she can decidedly send her son the message that sometimes its a good thing to FIGHT, especially when one's rights are being violated.

Amen to that Catherine! I often think that to FIGHT for his rights is one tool among many I want to leave behind in his toolbox, but my prayer is that hopefully he won't need that one by the time I'm gone... at least he'll always know where to find it and the right way to use it.

That really is very surprising. Well, maybe I shouldn't be surprised because I work and see the kids with problems everyday.

I think it was incredibly fucked up that the teacher wasn't fired. At the school I teach at the admin is terrified of the parents and do everything they can (to the point of being ridiculous sometimes) to keep the parents happy. Out of the 1000 kids at the school (k-2), there are about 7 severe/profound kids and 2 asperger kids that I know and love. The teachers complain about the kids all of the time because it disrupts class. Especially with the asperger/autistic kids. One boy, Greg, is awesome. I love that kid so much; at the same time, his "regular" teacher gets incredibly annoyed with him and is pretty harsh towards him when he is unwilling to comply with what the class is doing. I found that its very hard to say that the class has to all do one specific thing one specific way because all kids are different. So, I admit, I do treat Greg differently. I am FAR more understanding of his wiggling, and talking, and moving and him saying my name a million times in a row. Unless he's not learning, I don't bother him with trying to make him "sit still and be quiet". When there is "down-time" in the class room, I indulge his desire to organize and give him a jug of beads to separate into piles. Or I let him sort papers. The other kids know and love him. Everyone makes sure he stays with the group and doesn't hurt himself, etc. And they know that he's NOT going to do things exactly the way everyone else in the room probably will, but they "get it" way better than adults do.

Blah, blah, sorry, I just went on and on about something that probably makes no sense to anyone but me....sorry.

_________________You can sing the praises of women all day long, but as long as you put a fertilized egg ahead of [their] welfare, you do not really care about them.-Dori 4/07

That really is very surprising. Well, maybe I shouldn't be surprised because I work and see the kids with problems everyday.

I think it was incredibly fucked up that the teacher wasn't fired. At the school I teach at the admin is terrified of the parents and do everything they can (to the point of being ridiculous sometimes) to keep the parents happy. Out of the 1000 kids at the school (k-2), there are about 7 severe/profound kids and 2 asperger kids that I know and love....Blah, blah, sorry, I just went on and on about something that probably makes no sense to anyone but me....sorry.

Bless your heart , lefty, God luv ya , I understood every single word you said Working with autistic/Asperger's kids is a wonderful gift by precious people ! I am so glad you work in a caring and compassionate working environment in conditions which you clearly help make that way, because its not just good for the kids, its good for you and the other employees' welfare to be in a state of well-being and stability, and to not be forced to work with or for sadistic people. We ALL lose our patience that is still not abusive/discriminatory, that is being human , and hopefully most parents of autistics should understand that better than any body , so this malicious incident in no way reflects on good people who love to teach anybody, not just Special Needs kids.

Florida is unfortunately , a fucked state when it comes to public school education so I was NOT a bit surprised that she wasn't fired. You are lucky to be teaching there not here, I don't know what causes such INTENTIONAL SADISM in this state, but that vile reputation was in my son's school too, even though it is a totally different county from the one in this story ! The harassment against him got so mean & degrading , and it came BY ORDERS from the principal to the teacher , that I finally had to demand the School Board to have him removed from that school and bussed to another school during his last year in Elementary School ! The School Board allowed it under some sort of similar ruling that allows a child to go to another school outside his school zone due to BULLYING ! Of course we were both near nervous breakdowns by then, its hard to relive. The proof of the pudding is that he made his first two Honor Rolls in his life during the last two quarters of the new school he was transferred to!!!

Florida also has that wicked reputation with the child protective services agency formerly called HRS (Health and Rehabilitative Services) , that is why they had to change the name to DCF (Department of Children and Families) a more innocuous name.

My son just got turned down for the same Vocational Rehabilitation services, a state agency, that he was receiving last year from the state! He just got the letter several weeks ago with a deadline in it to appeal , and no duplicate letter was sent to me. Not even Federal programs he belongs to does this, I always get a duplicate letter from the Fed programs on a timely basis. So you see , in Florida , parents are scared of public schools and state/public agencies ! The people in charge have too much un-checked power and are under-funded on top of that, not a good combo under any circumstances.

And you know that I'd love to blame the whole sadistic attitude in Florida on former governor Jeb Bush , but I honestly can't. I'm afraid Janet Reno had a lot to do with this authoritarian/anti-people's rights attitude the way she ran HRS in Florida back in the 1980's (we called it Florida's Gestapo back then, and remember she later became the WACO WHACKO). We parents used to make all kinds of jokes to survive the 1980's "child abuse witch-hunts" , and one is that HRS is not racist or snobs, they will kidnap anybody's children!

I certainly don't want to excuse this so-called teacher's behavior away, but it did not surprise me one iota that the story came out of Florida , but what DID surprise me and was so great (and rare) to see was the Florida parent speak out against the system, because this behavior by this teacher is not that un-usual in my state. There are two issues that drive this, the SADISM that is not so uncommon in Florida public schools and public agencies, and the BUDGET CUTS that just happened due to Governor Crist (yuk). I am certainly not proud of Florida's state of education and healthcare for children, but at the same time I really can't explain WHY, which is why I am over-analyzing this horrible teacher so much because she is NOT uncommon here. There are many wonderful people in the system who get overshadowed by this "mean streak" in Florida systems. I naturally would love to see Florida's reputation change, and the reality improve for the better !

I have found this type of attitude exists most everywhere. We had have some dear friends in Orange County California that have a son that was brain damaged at birth (a so-called forceps baby) that had to transfer to several different schools before they found the one that the district used for their "special students." I have always felt the district used that school as a dumping ground for teachers and students that didn't fit in elsewhere. There is a big push for conformity that creates a hostile atmosphere to anyone outside the norm.

As for Florida this extends to the teachers as well, as this is the state that fired a teacher for wizardry.

A little companion piece to yank's original story. This one is from MN and involves a CHURCH denying an autistic boy the right to attend services. Some of the things the autistic boy is accused of doing seem to be pretty serious, but the parents deny them. Read on:

Carol Race thinks it's important for her 13-year-old son to be in church on Sundays for Catholic Mass.

Leaders of the Church of St. Joseph once felt the same way, but not anymore. They say Race's autistic son Adam is disruptive and his erratic behavior threatens the safety of other parishioners.

The northern Minnesota church has obtained a restraining order to keep Adam away, an action that has been deeply hurtful to the Race family and has brought them support from parents of other autistic children.

"My son is not dangerous," Carol Race said. The church's action is "about a certain community's fears of him. Fears of danger versus actual danger," she said.

In court papers, church leaders say the danger is real. The Rev. Daniel Walz wrote in his petition for the restraining order that Adam — who already is more than 6 feet tall and weighs more than 225 pounds — has hit a child, has nearly knocked over elderly parishioners while bolting from his pew, has spit at people and has urinated in the church.

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

I have found this type of attitude exists most everywhere. We had have some dear friends in Orange County California that have a son that was brain damaged at birth (a so-called forceps baby) that had to transfer to several different schools before they found the one that the district used for their "special students." I have always felt the district used that school as a dumping ground for teachers and students that didn't fit in elsewhere. There is a big push for conformity that creates a hostile atmosphere to anyone outside the norm.

As for Florida this extends to the teachers as well, as this is the state that fired a teacher for wizardry.

I have heard there are other states that handle autism better too, but to tell you the truth, the best place for Asperger's is the UK. I hear they handle it beautifully there, they even have special colleges for Asperger's (dorms for life skills types courses, I think is the way it is). It may not be perfect, nothing is in the disability/caretaker lifestyle, of course the grass is always greener on the other side

We have had a lot better contacts and social networking with Autism/Asperger's organizations with him as an adult than when he was a child in Florida. Life is MUCH better now that he is out of public school and into community college. Florida Public Community College is an overwhelmingly wonderful experience , like night and day compared to his old school days. They have treated him professionally and friendly in all aspects!

Go figure, one extreme or another ! I guess you get what you pay for in Florida ? (tuition)

A little companion piece to yank's original story. This one is from MN and involves a CHURCH denying an autistic boy the right to attend services. Some of the things the autistic boy is accused of doing seem to be pretty serious, but the parents deny them. Read on:

Carol Race thinks it's important for her 13-year-old son to be in church on Sundays for Catholic Mass.

Leaders of the Church of St. Joseph once felt the same way, but not anymore. They say Race's autistic son Adam is disruptive and his erratic behavior threatens the safety of other parishioners.

The northern Minnesota church has obtained a restraining order to keep Adam away, an action that has been deeply hurtful to the Race family and has brought them support from parents of other autistic children.

"My son is not dangerous," Carol Race said. The church's action is "about a certain community's fears of him. Fears of danger versus actual danger," she said.

In court papers, church leaders say the danger is real. The Rev. Daniel Walz wrote in his petition for the restraining order that Adam — who already is more than 6 feet tall and weighs more than 225 pounds — has hit a child, has nearly knocked over elderly parishioners while bolting from his pew, has spit at people and has urinated in the church.

I heard this story in an Asperger's support group. This one is a hard call, because the child may have less rights since the church is a private organization. My comment at my support group online was something like this:

Does the boy want to be at church? If he really does want to go to church, then the church should bend over backwards to find a way somehow to accomodate his spiritual needs. If he really does not want to be there, then the parents need to come out of their denial , and take turns going to church, or leave him with a family member or friend if they want to go as a couple to church.

As a footnote, mine goes , we sit in the back row, of course he is on great meds! He always finds the readings and songs in the book before I do, so he keeps me on my toes He loves the handshake of peace part of the Mass the best, with everyone shaking his hand

The following is the police report in the Port St Lucie, Florida kindergarten teacher incident. The police case is now closed. What is significant to me is that the Mom had the fortitude and wherewithal to report this incident to the police in the first place. She somehow collected her thoughts and immediately documented this incident . Even though the police case is closed, the Mom now has documentation of the witnesses and the Asperger's kindergarten boy (her son) and what they saw and did not see. This can be used in any future documentation for the teacher's disciplinary actions by the School Board, and also supports the boy's side of the story for his school records. Currently, the teacher has been re-assigned to a "non-classroom role".

The signifigance to me personally is that this shows the extent and lengths Florida parents in general and parents of disabled children have to take in order to support their child , and to defend their own parenthood from false scrutiny in the state of Florida . :